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Knicks Had Best 5-Man Unit Last Year

Last season, the New York Knicks held the best five-man lineup, according to net rating. They scored 26.9 points per 100 possessions more than their opponent with this lineup, nearly seven points better than the next best team. The lineup, you ask? Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd, J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler.

With this lineup, in 39 games and 269 minutes, they limited their opponents to just 92.5 points per 100 possessions, while scoring 119.3 points per 100 possessions. Both of those numbers are quite good, but what’s most interesting about this is that the Knicks weren’t lauded as one of the league’s best teams. In fact, seeing that this lineup was atop the league’s best shocked me, quite honestly.

With the loss of Jason Kidd, it’ll be interesting to see if, by slotting Pablo Prigioni in, the Knicks can be as successful as it seems the two point-guard lineup of Felton/Kidd was a difference maker.

Oh, the second best lineup, you ask? The Miami Heat’s unit of Mario Chalmers, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Shane Battier and Chris Bosh.They posted a 117.2 offensive rating and a 97.5 defensive rating.